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2/1/1997
THE GUARDIAN ANGELS OF ARMENIAN ARCHITECTURE
Italy
by David Zenian

The Armenian presence in Venice got a major boost a few years ago with the relocation from Milan of the Diaspora's leading research institute devoted to ancient Armenian architecture and culture.

For almost 30 years, the non-profit Centro Studi e Documentazione della Cultura Armena, has not only stubbornly persevered in the study of historical Armenian churches and monuments, but also shared its wealth of information with the rest of the world.

The brainchild of a small group of Armenians from Milan, notably the late Onnig Manoukian who bankrolled the endeavor, and spearheaded by the famous Italian scholar Adriano Alpago Novello, Armenian architecture was in the spotlight.

Novello, accompanied by two photographers traveled to Armenian in 1965 for an initial look at old churches - referred to at the time as national monuments because communism was the only "religion" of that period.

"It was a love at first sight," the Center's leading researcher Dr. Ara Zaryan said during a recent visit, whose late father, architect Armen Zaryan, was among the founding members of what has since become a growing intellectual movement with enthusiastic supporters not only in Italy but also Armenia.

Novello's first trip and the energy it generated has over the years produced 22 fully illustrated and meticulously researched volumes on the most significant Armenian architectural monuments - mainly churches scattered over the vast territory of what once was historical Armenia, which is now divided among Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The first book to come off the presses was devoted to the ancient monastery and church at Haghbat. The book included detailed architectural diagrams, designs, photographs and research material and historical background on one of the early places of worship of the world's oldest Christian nation.

Over the years, a small group of people like Onnig Manoukian, Harotiun Kazanjian, Armen Manoukian, Armen Zaryan, Agopig Manoukian, and Setrak Manoukian, along with architects and field researchers from Italy and Armenia, have kept the spotlight on Armenian architecture.

Year after year, the research continued and so did the production of a long series of priceless publications, each concentrating on a single monastery, church or important historical monument in Armenia.

Highlighted were the unique and purely Armenian Khatchkars, stone crosses, which often act as sort of markers reflecting the Armenian presence on lands which have long since been lost to neighboring nations.

Armenian monasteries like Sanahin, Amberd, Geghart, Goshavank, Akhtamar along with historical Armenian towns like Ani have each been given special attention.

The 23rd, and probably last in the series which started 30 years ago, will be devoted to the ancient Armenian city of Vagharshapat, after which the Center hopes to switch gears and focus its attention more on reconstruction and renovation of the ancient monuments.

Work in that direction has already begun, thanks to a new generation of "devotees to the cause" like architect Gaiane Casnati, a grand-daughter of the late Onnig Manoukian.

But in the meantime, the Center is busy establishing itself as a viable and credible research institute in Venice, its new home since 1991 in a 220-year-old Venetian palace which it had to renovate with private donations before moving in.

"It's always been the Manoukian family and its moral and financial support that has kept us going for nearly 30 years. It started with the late Onnig Manoukian, and is still continuing with the new generation," Ara Zaryan said.

In Venice, the Center is located on the grounds of the 160-year-old Moorat-Raphaelian Armenian school and includes a rich and thematic library containing thousands of books, research materials and primary sources on Armenian architecture, history, literature and music.

Its non-Armenian collection includes vast volumes of Byzantine, Georgian, Seljuk and Iranian works along with a large archive of photos which are in great demand by university students, think tanks and other researchers from several universities located in and around Venice.

"We have become a sort of beacon of light on Armenian issues. The series on Armenian architecture and historical monuments have made a tremendous impact and are now well known around the world," Ara Zaryan said.

"Being in Venice, the wealth of information we have at the Center is now available to scholars, students, researchers and the general public. In the few years we have been here at least a dozen major papers have been published by non-Armenians using our resources," he said.

"We came to Venice to consolidate the Armenian presence in the city which is an international center for the arts and culture. We blend with everything that Venice stands for," Zaryan said.

Parallel to the library, the Center is also busy with lectures, exhibitions and musical performances in cooperation with leading Italian cultural organizations, universities and other research centers.

Closely coordinating its activities over the years with the appropriate authorities in Armenia in charge of the preservation and renovation of national monuments, along with architectural students from the Yerevan Polytechnic, the Center recently participated in the two-month-long Sixth International Architecture Exhibition in Venice where "Contemporary Armenian Architecture" was one of the highlights.

The architectural exhibitions, lectures and research have made the Center a unique entity, thanks to a handful of guardian angels of the Armenian heritage.

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